The Wall of Winnipeg and Me - Mariana Zapata Page 0,55

first statement in the mail after graduation.

So why cry over it?

I had told him the truth. I didn’t need him or his money.

But I would have taken it because I was an idiot, but I wasn’t that much of an idiot.

* * *

I was in the middle of uploading a Facebook cover file to DropBox for a client when my phone rang. Peeking over at it sitting on the coffee table behind my work desk, I couldn’t help but be a little surprised at the name appearing on the screen.

Miranda P.

I should probably change the contact information since he technically wasn’t my version of Miranda anymore.

“Hello?”

“Are you home?” the deep voice asked.

“Yes.” I’d barely finished pronouncing the ‘s’ when a now familiar, heavy-handed knock banged on my door. I didn’t have to check my phone to know he’d hung up. A moment later, the peephole confirmed who I thought it would be.

And, yep, it was Aiden.

He barreled inside the instant the deadbolt was turned and slammed the door shut behind him, locking it without a second glance. Those dark eyes pierced me with a look that made me frown and freeze at the same time.

“What is it?”

“What the hell were you thinking moving here?” he pretty much growled in a disgusted tone that immediately put me on the defensive.

Sure, I knew my complex was slightly scary, but he didn’t need to make it seem like I lived in a slum. “It’s cheap.”

“You’re kidding,” he muttered.

Where the hell did this smart mouth come from? “Some of my neighbors are nice,” I claimed.

The expression on his face was dubious as he said, “Someone was getting jumped right next to the gate when I pulled in.”

Oh. I waved him inside to change the subject. He didn’t need to know that happened on a weekly basis. I’d called the cops a couple of times, but once I realized they never actually showed up, I stopped bothering. “Do you need something?”

Walking ahead of me toward the living room, he answered over his shoulder, “I’ve been waiting for you to let me know when you’re moving in.”

That had been one of the first things I’d stopped wondering back when I began considering that he might have changed his mind. So hearing it again was like having ice thrown on me. Almost. I didn’t bother telling him I’d thought we weren’t going through with it anymore. “Were you... did you…” I coughed. “Was I supposed to do it soon?”

Turning around to face me, he tipped his chin down before crossing his giant biceps over his chest. “The season is about to start, we need to do it before then.”

I didn’t remember hearing about that being part of the plan. I mean, I figured sooner than later, but…

He was paying off my student loans if I did this. I should have moved in the day after we came to a decision, if that was what he wanted.

“When do you think I should?” I asked.

Of course he had a date in mind. “Friday or Saturday.”

I almost hacked a lung out. “This Friday or Saturday?” That was only five days away.

That big head tipped to the side. “We’re on a time crunch.”

“Oh.” I swallowed. “My lease is up in two months.”

Sometimes I forgot Aiden didn’t believe in obstacles. “Pay it off. I’ll give you the cash.”

This was happening. This was really happening. I was moving in. With him.

I eyed him—the wide muscles of his shoulders, the dark hair dusting his jaw, those freaking eyes that seemed to glare at everything and everyone. I was going to be living with this guy.

My loans. My loans, my loans, my loans.

“What day is better for you? Friday or Saturday?” I made myself ask.

“Friday.”

Friday it was. I peered at my belongings for the first time, and felt a pang of sadness.

Just as I was thinking about my things, Aiden seemed to be doing the same thing, glancing around the small living room. I thought he might have lifted a foot to toe my couch. “Do you need help packing… or something?” he asked in an unsure voice, like this was his first time asking someone if they needed help.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

“Umm…” Right after I’d gotten home from his house, I’d decided what I would keep and what I would donate or give away. In conclusion, I assumed it would have to be most of my stuff.

I figured I’d be taking the guest room since it was the only room not